How to request a certified copy of a police report

It is the official, certified copy of a report the Puerto Rico Police took: a crash, a theft, a burglary, a disappearance, any incident that generated a complaint. Insurers, lawyers, courts and, very often, the affected person themselves request it for their file. The Police handle it with form PPR-139.8, which covers statistical data as well as reports, and which has a specific block for firearms cases when the request goes to the Weapons Registry.

PPR-139.8 lists five requester categories and one of them is “Citizens”, alongside law enforcement agency, government employee, press and student. That confirms a private individual may request one. The form also asks you to explain the purpose of the request, so arrive with that answer clear: for the insurer, for a court case, for your own file. If someone is going to request it on your behalf, the form does not describe that scenario and this guide does not assume it: confirm with the Police before sending another person.

• The complaint number of the report you want. PPR-139.8 asks for it in its header.Verified against the official source
• Identifying your requester category. The form offers five: law enforcement agency, government employee, press, student and citizens.Verified against the official source
• Explaining the purpose of the request. The form reserves a space for it.Verified against the official source
• Stating the type of report and the number of copies you need.Verified against the official source
• Paying the fees. The form distinguishes between “Official Use” and “Fee Payment”, and records the total stamps cancelled.Verified against the official source

• Your name as requester and the date of the request.
• If you are a government employee or come from an agency: the agency, work unit and address.
• If the case involves firearms and the request goes to the Weapons Registry: make, model, serial number and calibre. The form also allows searching by name or by social security number.

1. 1

   Step 1: Get the complaint number first

   It is the first thing the form asks for and the thing most people do not have. The complaint number was generated when the report was taken; it usually appears on the paper you were given that day, or the station that handled the incident has it. If you do not have it, that call or visit comes before everything else, because without that number the request has nothing to point at.

2. 2

   Step 2: Download PPR-139.8

   The Police publish it in their document library at biblioteca.policia.pr.gov, within the PPR Forms. Download it from there: it is the version the agency maintains, not a third-party copy.

3. 3

   Step 3: Mark your category and explain the purpose

   If you are a private individual, the box is “Citizens”. The purpose has to be written out, ticking is not enough: “for the claim with my insurer after the crash on [date]” is the kind of answer the box expects. Also note the type of report and how many copies you need, because that is what determines what you will pay.

4. 4

   Step 4: Confirm the fee before going

   The form makes clear that fees apply and that stamps are cancelled, but it does not print the amount, per copy or per report type. This guide does not invent it. Call the Police switchboard, (787) 793-1234, or the station where the report was taken, and ask how much it is and how it is paid before making the trip.

5. 5

   Step 5: If the case involves firearms, fill in that block

   PPR-139.8 has a section stating expressly that it applies only to the Weapons Registry: make, model, serial number and calibre, with the option of searching by name or by social security number. If your case does not involve firearms, that section is left blank.

Before the Puerto Rico Police. Form PPR-139.8 does not state the filing office, so the reasonable starting point is the station where the report was taken, or the switchboard at (787) 793-1234 to be told where to go. Headquarters is at 601 Ave. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, San Juan, 00936, and the directory of state stations is on policia.pr.gov.

• Going to request the copy without the complaint number, which is the first thing the form asks for.
• Believing a private citizen cannot request it: “Citizens” is one of the form’s five categories.
• Leaving the purpose of the request blank, which the form asks you to explain.
• Not asking how many copies the insurer needs and having to go back for a second one.
• Confusing the police report with the criminal record certificate: they are different documents.
• Assuming a cost. The form confirms fees and stamps apply, but does not publish the amount.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Policía de Puerto Rico

  Policía de PR

  www.policia.pr.gov

• Form PPR-139.8 — Application for Certified Copies of Report and Statistical Data (Police document library)

  Policía de Puerto Rico

  biblioteca.policia.pr.gov

• Puerto Rico Police — contact and station directory

  Policía de Puerto Rico

  www.policia.pr.gov